


I like you

by duuuuuuuuude



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-10
Updated: 2017-04-20
Packaged: 2018-10-17 02:42:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 7,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10584735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/duuuuuuuuude/pseuds/duuuuuuuuude
Summary: AU--Ali and Ashlyn both go to Penn State. Ashlyn is a freshman and Ali is a sophomore. The whole team is basically current or past USWNT players. Ali is confused about who she is and what she wants, Ashlyn on the other-hand is not confused at all. The two are forced to live together and although it doesn't start off perfectly, they learn to fully embrace their newfound friendship.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Ignore all real timelines, ages of players, etc. BTW Ali is a midfielder because that's what she played in college. I'm seriously going to try to finish this one...planning for 10-15 chapters. If you have any questions or I messed anything up, let me know! PS chapters will usually be longer than this, just wanted to get you started

Ali Krieger was good. The best, actually. At soccer, not everything, although that’s not exactly how she saw it. She was a starting midfielder at Penn State and was in no danger of losing her spot. She was the best on the team and she was only a sophomore. 

Not only was she fiercely competitive and surely going on to play professionally, Ali was gorgeous. Not the kind of gorgeous where she showed up to parties in next to nothing or caked on so much makeup that she looked flawless. 

She was the kind of gorgeous that everyone in the room turned to look at her when she walked in. The kind where her smile and laugh were contagious. The kind where when she was covered in sweat with her hair in a bun she looked like she was in a Nike commercial.

The thing that drew so many people towards her, however, was the fact that she was so humble and kind. She didn’t know how good she looked and she definitely didn’t use her looks to get ahead. She was a hard worker and her tenacity was unmatched.

//

On this particular Friday in early August, Ali was moving into her new dorm for the start of her sophomore year. She was assigned to a double that was part of a larger, 6-person suite. There were three bedrooms so everyone shared a room, and everyone living in it was on the soccer team. 

Ali’s roommate was Kelley O’hara who was also a sophomore. In the second bedroom was Allie Long and Alex Morgan (juniors), and in the third was Tobin Heath (sophomore) with a spare bed. The bed would be filled by one of the incoming freshmen. 

The incoming freshmen class was pretty lackluster as far as Ali had heard. They had three new players joining the team, but she doubted any of them would be starters. She hadn’t heard of any of them, all she knew was that one was a defender, one was a goal keeper, and one was a midfielder (she wasn’t at all threatened).

As the 5 returners hauled their bags into the dorm on a muggy summer day, they laughed and joked and discussed what they had done over the break. They were all pretty good friends and had chosen to live together, so they got along well and had a lot to catch each other up on. 

When they all signed up to live together, they actually had 6 people, but when their coach found out that the sixth girl (Christen Press) and Tobin were dating, “the dream team” had come to an end. Christen had agreed to join another group of soccer girls and was trying to make the most out of it. Tobin thought it was dumb because she knew they would have sleepovers almost every night anyways. Oh well.

As the 5 of them sat around gossiping, there was a knock at the door. They all looked around at each other shrugging as it suddenly swung open. A tall blonde stood in the doorway with three suitcases, a backpack, and a nervous grin on her face.

“Hey, I’m Ashlyn. I’m your new roommate I guess?”

Allie, the friendliest and most outgoing of the group sprung to her feet and over towards Ashlyn.

“Hi! I’m Allie! That’s Tobin, your roommate-roommate, Alex, my roommate-roommate, Ali, and Kelley. They’re roommate-roommates.” She pointed everyone out and Ashlyn nodded along.

“Here, let me help you with your bags and I’ll show you your room,” Allie said as she eyed everyone else as to silently tell them to stop being weird and say something.

No one said anything. Instead, Tobin turned on the TV and they all started watching shark week. When Ashlyn finished unpacking she came out into the common room and plopped down next to Ali on the couch.

“Oh. My. God. I loooove shark week!!” she exclaimed.

Everyone laughed, glad that the tension had been broken. They all started asking Ashlyn questions about herself and before long they were all laughing and joking together, everyone relieved that the rooming situation seemed to be working out.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day after the team’s first preseason practice together, the team captains, Abby and Becky, asked everyone to gather around in a circle on the field. They had picked out existing team members to pair up with the newbies sort of like mentors or “bigs” of the sorority world. 

“Okay, so we know there are only 3 freshmen, so most people won’t get assigned one, but we think it was actually good because we got to pick out people we thought would be really good at it and would get along well with each other,” Becky explained. 

Abby nodded along and began to list the names, “Alright, Sydney, you’re with Whitney Engen. Krieger, you’re with Ashlyn Harris. And Alyssa, you’re with Samantha Mewis. Any questions?”

The players all looked around and nodded to each other. They pretty much knew who they all were dealing with since they had practice together already and the coach had introduced them. Plus remembering 3 names is really not that hard. 

As everyone was standing up to leave, Ali bounced over towards Ashlyn and smiled at her.

“I guess we’re really gonna get to know each other well seeing as we already live together an everything,” Ali pointed out.

“Yeah I guess so,” Ashlyn chuckled. “Listen, we don’t have to make this a big thing if you don’t want. Like if you could just answer questions if I have any or whatever I’d be cool with that. I feel like we’re already going to be hanging out and getting to know each other since we’re roommates.”

Ali nodded in agreement. “Yeah okay that makes sense. The only thing is that we are like required to take you guys out to coffee or something today to ‘initiate the friendship.’” She said with air quotes. 

“I can do coffee! Let’s go home and shower and then go to Starbucks. Does that work?” Ashlyn asked.

“Yes, definitely!”

//

Ashlyn sat out on the couch in the common room waiting for Ali to get ready. Allie sat down next to her and laughed when she realized what she was doing. 

“Dude, how long have you been waiting for her?”

“Umm, not that long, maybe like 15 minutes,” Ashlyn said generously (it had really been more like 25).

“Piece of advice? Make yourself comfortable. Ali literally takes years to get ready. You should see her before a date. It’s unreal. Takes her the entire day,” Allie exaggerated.

As Ashlyn laughed, Ali came up behind them clearing her throat, “Okay first of all, rude. Second of all, not true.”

Allie rolled her eyes in response and turned her focus to the TV.

“Ok Ash, ready to go?” 

Ashlyn felt a flutter in her stomach when she heard the nickname roll off of Ali’s tongue. It’s not that she didn’t find her attractive before, but she was used to being attracted to girls she couldn’t have. She had never really let herself think about Ali in that way until now.

Ashlyn cleared her throat and the thoughts in her head, “Umm yeah, sure.”

//

They sat across from each other at a small table in the corner of a fairly crowded Starbucks on campus. Ali had bought both of their coffees because it was “her duty as a mentor,” much to Ashlyn’s protest.

They were both a little nervous and not sure what to talk about, so Ali just started firing away questions.

“Where are you from?”

“Florida.”

“Do you have any siblings?”

“Yeah an older brother, Chris.”

“Do you have a girlfriend?”

Ashlyn laughed and smirked at Ali. “How’d you know I was gay?” She asked.

Ali tried to suppress the giggle in her throat. “Umm, I don’t know, you just sort of exude it. Like your clothes. You’re wearing baggy pants and chains. And the hat. I don’t know it’s just like a vibe, ya know?”

Ashlyn smirked at her. “Yeah Ali I know what the vibe is, I’m just wondering how you picked up on it.”

Ali frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, most straight girls don’t have very good gaydar.”

Ali blushed and looked down at her coffee. 

“Are you not straight?” Ashlyn prodded. She could easily see it going either way.

Ali built up the nerve to look Ashlyn in the eyes. “You tell me if you have such good gaydar.”

Ashlyn chewed the inside of her cheek as she thought about how she would play this. “Well, I mean I definitely get some not-so-straight vibes from you, but you don’t really scream gay either, so you tell me.”

Ali’s face was bright red at this point and she tried to change the subject. “Can we talk about something else? You never answered the original question. So are you seeing anyone?”

Ashlyn decided she wanted to have a little bit of fun with this. She could tell Ali was uncomfortable and she was pretty sure why, so she took the opportunity to tease her about it. “I do not have a girlfriend. But back to you, have you ever slept with a girl?”

Ali’s face drained of color and she abruptly got up from her seat. “Asshole,” she muttered.

Ashlyn was just about to apologize when Ali turned and walked out the door.

“Fuck,” Ashlyn said under her breath. Not only was she upset about messing it up with Ali, but she also didn’t know how to get back to their dorm.


	3. Chapter 3

"Thank God for Tobin Heath", Ashlyn thought as she made her way back to the dorm. She had texted Tobin and got her to drop a pin from her current location so she could find her way back.

Tobin hadn’t asked any questions and Ashlyn wondered if it was because she really just wasn’t interested or because Ali had stormed into the room and she knew something must’ve happened.

Either way, Ashlyn had a real appreciation for Tobin. She was very laid back and they had gotten along very well the past couple of days. She was proving to be the perfect roommate for Ashlyn and she was very thankful that at least that aspect of her life was working out.

//

10 minutes later Ashlyn made it back to the room. She saw that Ali and Kelley’s door was shut, but she felt like she should try to mend things with Ali as soon as possible so she knocked and waited for a response.

Nothing.

She knocked again.

“Who is it?” she heard between sniffles.

“Hey. It’s Ash. Can I come in?”

“No. Go to Hell.”

Ashlyn felt her stomach drop. She really didn’t realize how much she upset Ali. She made her way into her own room and collapsed on her bed.

“Dude,” said Tobin, “I don’t know what you did, but you better fix it. It’s never good to be on Ali’s bad side.”

Ashlyn forced a weak smile and then buried her face in a pillow. Day 2 and she had already fucked up big time. 

//

An entire week passed and Ali still would not talk to Ashlyn. She avoided her at practice and then when they were both in the room she just pretended Ashlyn wasn’t even there. Ashlyn tried to talk to her at least twice a day and was met by complete silence. Not even anger, just a blank stare and no words.

Since it was preseason and no one was really on campus besides athletes, some of the teams had been throwing some really great parties. On that particular Friday, Ashlyn decided to join some of her teammates at the party the girls’ basketball team was having. It was “island themed” which basically just meant that everyone was supposed to show up in bathing suits or something similar.

Ashlyn decided to wear a black string bikini top with black and blue Hurley board shorts. Her blonde hair was down in beachy waves and she kept her makeup light.

“Damn Ash, you look hot,” Tobin complimented.

Christen gave her a look from across the room that made her change her tone.

“But I mean, not nearly as hot as Chris,” she corrected with a wink.

Christen had gone with the hula girl look—grass skirt and coconut bra. Tobin was dressed similarly to Ashlyn except she had a yellow lei around her neck that matched the flower in Christen’s hair. 

“You guys ready to go?” Alex called from the common room.

Everyone from their suite was going except for Ali.

“Al, you sure you don’t want to come?” Kelley asked for the millionth time.

“Yeah you guys have fun. I’m not feeling too well. I’m just gonna hang out here,” Ali replied.

//

At the party the drinks were flowing and Ashlyn had found a beautiful girl, Emily, to dance with. She was slightly shorter, had brown hair, and a killer smile. Some of the soccer girls thought she looked suspiciously like Ali, but none of them said anything to Ashlyn.

After several songs of dancing very close with her hands all over Emily, Ashlyn was getting hot and bothered.

“Hey, do you want to get out of here?” She whispered seductively in the brunette’s ear.

“Yeah, let me just grab my purse.”

Ashlyn spun her around and brought her into a deep kiss and then waited as she went to collect her belongings. She led her by the hand back to her dorm, hoping Ali was either asleep or decided to go do something after all.


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning Ashlyn woke up alone. She knew that would be the case seeing as Emily left her room at around 2am, but nevertheless she was a little disappointed. There was nothing she loved more than cuddling in a warm bed late into the morning.

Her thoughts wandered to Ali. She knew she had to talk to her that day. There was no more “try,” she had to do it. When she brought Emily back the night before, Ali had been on the couch in the common room watching a movie.

They walked through the door with hands all over each other, tongues down throats. It wasn’t until Ali got up from the couch, ran to her room, and slammed the door that they even knew she was there.

Ashlyn heard her crying through the wall after that and it broke her heart. She didn’t know how one comment could cause all of this pain for Ali, but she needed to get to the bottom of it and help her through it.

She wouldn’t let herself be responsible for Ali feeling this way.

//

“Al?” Ashlyn called out as she softly knocked on her bedroom door.

The door swung open and there stood Kelley, seemingly oblivious to the situation.

“Hey Ash!” She exclaimed. “I’m going for a run, wanna come?”

“No thanks, I was hoping to talk to Ali about something actually.”

“Oh yeah for sure, she’s in there. Listen, how was last night? That girl was fucking hot dude,” Kelley said as she wagged her eyebrows and smirked suggestively.

“Uhh yeah, she was nice. Listen, I really need to talk to Ali, but have fun on your run!” Ashlyn said as she tried to get Kelley to take a hint. She knew Ali could hear everything seeing as her bed was like 5 feet away from the door.

“Thanks!” Kelley called out as she finally made her way towards the door.

//

Ashlyn cautiously stuck her head into Ali and Kelley’s room. “Al?”

“Go away,” Ali grumbled.

“I can’t. We have to talk.”

Ashlyn made her way over to her bed. Ali was completely under the covers, head and all.

Ashlyn hopped up and sat on the end, making sure to avoid sitting on Ali’s feet.

“Hey. Can you tell me what’s wrong? I’m really sorry if what I said at Starbucks upset you. I really didn’t mean for this to happen,” Ashlyn started.

“It’s fine.”

“Ali, clearly it’s not fine. You’ve been upset ever since.”

Ashlyn got no response. She sighed and decided to change up her tactics. She squished herself up between Ali and the wall and rubbed her arm over the covers.

Ali froze at first, but then started to relax. She wasn’t really sure why she was so comfortable with someone she knew for such a short time being so close and touchy with her, but she pushed that thought to the back of her mind. 

Ali took a deep breath and worked up the nerve to start a conversation that she’d never had with anyone before, let alone someone she barely knew.

“IthinkIlikegirls.”

Ashlyn smirked and let out a tiny laugh. “I’m sorry, what was that mumbles?”

“Ashlyn.”

“Yeah?”

“I can’t say it again.”

Ashlyn’s heart broke in two for Ali. She knew exactly how she felt. She had been in the exact same position only a few years before. In that moment she decided she would be Ali’s rock. She had desperately needed someone to lean on during her realization and acceptance of her sexuality and she wanted to be that for Ali. She didn’t want her to go through it alone if she didn’t have to.

A soft whimper from under the covers brought Ashlyn out of her thoughts. Ali was trying unsuccessfully not to cry.

Ashlyn wrapped her arms around the form under the comforter and pulled her closer.

“Shhh. It’s okay. Everything will be okay, I promise you.”

//

Once Ali had pulled it together a little bit and emerged from her cocoon, she sat up in bed next to Ashlyn and let her hold her. 

Ali finally started talking and Ashlyn realized 3 things:  
1) Ali was extremely confused  
2) Ali definitely liked girls  
3) Ali was perfect


	5. Chapter 5

The two sat on Ali’s bed talking for the better part of the day. Ali had asked Ashlyn about her experience and Ashlyn had all but spilled her guts. She told Ali everything: her difficult home-life, her continuous battle with depression, and most importantly her coming out story.

 

 

[When Ashlyn was 13, she knew she was different. As her friends were starting to have real crushes on boys and go on first dates and hold hands and have first kisses, she found herself very uninterested. She focused on soccer and training and having fun with friends. 

She did everything she could to stay out of the house. Her parents were always arguing and drinking and she didn’t want to be around them. She learned to skate and longboard, surf, and tried just about every sport.

During her freshman year of high school, Ashlyn started hanging out with one friend particularly often: Jessica. All of their other friends had boyfriends or at least were pining after boys that they wanted to be their boyfriends, and they had very little time to hang out anymore. Ashlyn and Jess would go to the beach and surf or just hang out, train on the soccer field outside of regular practice, go fishing on the pier, or just lay around talking and laughing. 

One night when they were 15, Ashlyn swiped a bottle of vodka from her mom (her dad had left them by that point) and brought it over to Jess’s for their sleepover. They drank straight from the bottle, passing it back and forth. Neither one really knew how much to drink or what their reaction would be, so eventually they both ended up fairly drunk. Ashlyn asked Jess why she didn’t have a boyfriend and she answered by leaning over and kissing her softly. They made out all night, but didn’t go any further.

The next day when they were both sober, they admitted that they liked each other. The two of them dated for close to a year, keeping it secret the entire time (except for a couple very trustworthy mutual friends). They both lost their virginities to each other and experienced many firsts together.

When Ashlyn finally decided to tell her mom, she was not very accepting. She used a variety of foul words: dyke, whore, slut, cunt, bitch. Ashlyn felt them all deeply and ended up having to stay with Jessica’s family for over 3 weeks. Chris finally convinced her to come home and their mom eventually stopped commenting on Ashlyn's life all together, choosing instead to ignore her existence. 

The relationship ended mutually when they decided they just didn’t love each other. They were only together because they were both gay, and they finally admitted that to themselves. They were better as friends and had stayed close ever since.

Ashlyn had one other girlfriend from her junior through senior years of high school, but that also ended up fizzling out. Overall, her experience was difficult because she didn’t feel comfortable talking to anyone about her sexuality and she was not supported by her mother. Eventually she stopped caring what everyone thought and tried to just be her genuine self.]

 

 

Ali just sat there while Ashlyn told the whole story, taking it all in.

“Geez Ash. I’m really sorry about your mom. That’s so shitty.”

Ashlyn looked up and gave Ali a soft smile, “Thanks. It’s okay now. Between me and my mom, I mean. It’s not great, but it’s much better.”

“Wait so I have a couple questions, is that okay?”

“Shoot.”

“So, you’ve never done anything with a boy?”

Ashlyn chuckled, “Nope. Never seen a penis in like a sexual way. Never even kissed a boy for real. I mean, maybe like a peck when I was 5 or 6, but nothing real.”

“Woah okay. And how many girls have you slept with?” Ali questioned.

“Wow Krieger, really getting personal here, huh? Umm well there was Jess, then my second girlfriend Natalie, and then there was this girl senior year named Hannah. We were like friends with benefits, but that only lasted like a month,” Ashlyn laughed and held up 3 fingers. “Sooo 3 I guess?”

Ali rolled her eyes. “Uh yeah plus that bitch from last night. So 4.”

Ashlyn smirked and wondered if Ali was jealous or just annoyed for them barging into the room like that. “Uh no. We didn’t sleep together.”

“You didn’t?”

“It’s a bit of a mood killer when you can hear a pretty girl crying through the wall,” Ashlyn joked. 

Ali covered her face with her hands, mortified. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry!”

“Seriously don’t even worry about it,” Ashlyn said sincerely. “I promised myself the next time I had sex it would be with someone I care about. That whole friends with benefits thing really fucked me up.”

Ali peeked out from between her fingers. “Really?” she asked.

“Really,” Ashlyn answered honestly. “I was just really drunk and asked her to come home with me without thinking. You saved me really. Well, except for I did miss out on morning cuddles, but what can ya do?”

Ali removed her hands completely and grinned, “Oh, so she’s a cuddler, huh?”

“Guilty.”

“Okay well I promise to make it up to you. Anytime you want a good cuddle, I’m your girl,” Ali offered. 

“Deal.”


	6. Chapter 6

After their heart-to-heart, Ashlyn and Ali became practically inseperable. They were constantly laughing and joking at practice, lounging around watching TV together, walking to class together (the fall semester was officially in-session), studying together in the library (Ashlyn mostly just tried to make Ali laugh and get them kicked out), and eating meals together. They got dinner together even on nights when it wasn’t a mandated team dinner when most of the players ate with their non-soccer friends. 

They were quickly becoming best friends. However, neither of them acknowledged the closeness and intimacy of their friendship. 

Ashlyn had also made good friends with Whitney, Allie, and a few other girls on the team. She had the type of personality that attracted everyone. Everybody loved her and wanted to be her friend.

Ali got jealous when Ashlyn hung out with other girls. She never said anything, but there would be times when Ashlyn just couldn’t figure out why she was pissed off for the life of her. 

This happened very infrequently, however, because the two were attached at the hip and neither hung out with anyone else very often. 

//

A few days after the “breakthrough,” Kelley brought up that whole situation with Ashlyn. She wanted to know why Ali was so angry and why the two needed to talk.

Ashlyn tried to avoid the questions at first, but finally gave in and made something up.

“Uhh, I’m not sure, I guess she was mad that I brought that girl home or whatever,” Ashlyn lied (sort of).

Kelley looked confused, “Why would she be mad about that?”

“I think because we were being loud and annoying. But it doesn’t matter, we’re good now,” Ashlyn let out.

“Yeah I guess that makes sense. I was gonna say, Ali is definitely NOT homophobic,” Kelley laughed.

At first Ashlyn thought Kelley meant that Ali’s brother is gay so of course she’s not homophobic, but she felt like there was more to the story.

“What do you mean?” She asked. 

“Oh nothing, nothing. Just, she and I have kissed before. Like 2 or 3 times maybe, when we were drunk at parties. And I one time saw her hardcore making out with this chick after practice one day,” Kelley admitted. 

Ashlyn was very surprised. This was all new information for her that she would have thought Ali would have shared with her.

Ali knew everything about her past and she laid out her sexual history for her, so she couldn’t understand why she would keep any of this from her. 

//

One morning when the two were cuddling in Ashlyn’s bed (she cashed in on that promise at least twice a week), she decided to bring up what Kelley told her. 

“Hey Al,” Ashlyn started, as she spooned Ali from behind and stroked her arm up and down.

“Yeah?”

“Why didn’t you tell me you kissed Kelley?”

Ali flipped over abruptly so they were face-to-face. “What?! How do you know about that? I can’t believe Kelley told you!!” Ali exclaimed as her face became red from embarrassment.

Ashlyn laughed and pulled her close into her chest. “Al, it’s really not a big deal. I don’t know if you know this, but I’ve kissed a girl before. More than one, actually,” she joked.

Ali gave her a shove and rolled her eyes. “Oh, ya don’t say?” She paused for a minute and then continued, “I guess I was just worried if I told you that you guys would talk about it. I really don’t remember any of the times that it happened too well ‘cause I was really drunk and I don’t know if I acted like an idiot or not,” She said quietly. 

“Hey. I hope you know I would never talk about you with anyone else like that. You’re my best friend,” Ashlyn confessed.

Ali smiled so wide that her nose crinkled. “Really? You’re my best friend too,” She said looking up at Ashlyn.

Ashlyn returned her grin and kissed her on the forehead. “Good.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I didn't edit it. I'll go back later and fix stuff. Omg but how about Ashlyn's diving header save yesterday??

One Friday morning in September, Ashlyn was asleep in her bed under her warm covers. Her 8am class had been cancelled so she was enjoying her one sleep-in day. 

At approximately 8:01, Ali burst through the door sqealing. She jumped onto Ashlyn’s bed and laid on top of her.

“Ashhhh. Wake up!”

Ashlyn groaned and pulled a pillow over her head.

Ali rolled her eyes and pulled it off. “No! Wake up! We’re gonna go to a really fun party tonight! I’m so excited!”

Ashlyn slowly emerged from her nest of blankets and started to wake up. She wondered what she was missing.

“Wait, but what’s going on right now?” She asked.

“Nothing, what do you mean?”

Ashlyn looked at Ali, slightly annoyed. “Umm, I mean why did you wake me up to tell me about a party we are going to go to at probably like 10 o’clock?”

Ali ignored her sass. “So you’re gonna come with me then??”

“Yes, Princess, I’ll come. Just please, let me sleep for a bit.”

“Deal.”

//

At around 9pm everyone started getting ready for the party (except Ali who had been getting ready since 5). The party was being thrown by one of her friend’s on the boy’s soccer team (he was actually her ex boyfriend but she hadn’t mentioned that to Ashlyn yet). All the sports teams were invited and they were supposed to look some variation of “sporty.” 

Kelley and Ashlyn thought it would be dumb to come up with a different costume, so they were both just wearing their soccer uniforms with flip-flops. They still looked good because they did their hair and makeup, but they were nowhere near Ali’s level. 

Ali decided to go as a “baseball player.” She wore black spandex shorts with a Pirates jersey (which was unbuttoned to almost her belly button and revealed a lot of cleavage and her push-up bra), long socks, and black Nikes.

Ashlyn was sitting on the couch when she finally emerged from her bedroom and her mouth immediately went dry. “Shit,” She mumbled to herself.

“What did you say?” Ali asked, although she had no trouble hearing her. 

Ashlyn’s face turned red. “Nothing, nothing,” She got out, “You just look really good, that’s all.”  
“Aww thanks! You don’t look too bad yourself,” Ali replied.

//

Allie, Alex, and Tobin had opted to get ready in Christen’s room with some of her roommates—Julie, Heather, and Megan—so the group leaving together was just Ali, Ashlyn, and Kelley. They decided to walk because even though the party was off-campus, it was less than a mile from their dorm (Jameson Hall).

They arrived to the party about 15 minutes later and it was already raging. The music was so loud that you could hear every word clearly from outside the house. The minute the trio stepped inside, they spotted the rest of their team. Everyone was there and they all looked pretty buzzed.

After saying hi to all their friends, Kelley disappeared to go dance with a guy she was “sort of seeing, not really,” and Ali and Ashlyn were the only two left who were still sober. Ashlyn took the liberty of fixing that.

“What do you want to drink? I’ll go grab something.”

“Wanna do tequila shots?” Ali asked, grinning. “I’ll come with you.”

Ashlyn thought back to the last time she had tequila and grimaced. That was not a pretty night. Oh well, she would suck it up for Ali and hoped she wouldn’t be able to taste it after the first couple of shots.

The two made their way to the kitchen where all the alcohol was spread out on the counter. Ashlyn found a bottle of Jose Cuervo and a couple of shot glasses. She poured them out and handed one to Ali.

“I don’t see any limes or salt, so I guess we’re just gonna have to suck it up.”

“Bring it on Harris.”

After the first shot Ashlyn legitimately thought she may puke. She searched around for a chaser and resorted to chugging some fruit punch right from the jug. She looked over to see Ali laughing hysterically at her.

“What? Did you just take that straight and not chase it with anything?!” She asked, astonished. 

“Tequila is my nectar,” Ali dead-panned.

Ashlyn laughed and poured two more shots.

After 4 shots each they were both feeling good. Really good. They had joined back up with most of their team and were talking and laughing, with a few random dance moves thrown in. 

Ali was hanging all over Ashlyn. She always had at least one hand on her, usually around her waist or neck. No one seemed to find this out of the ordinary, so Ashlyn figured Ali must be a handsy drunk. 

Ashlyn also realized that Ali was a very fun drunk. Her laugh got looser, her jokes got lamer, and she sang along to almost every song. 

After a few more minutes with the group, Ali wrapped both arms around Ashlyn’s neck and whispered, “Come dance with me.”

She grabbed Ashlyn’s hand and started tugging, leading her over to an area where people were dancing.

She immediately turned around and pressed her back up against Ashlyn’s front, grinding softly at first, but increasing pressure after a few seconds.

Ashlyn didn’t know what to. She liked Ali and she was enjoying this, but she thought back to what Kelley said. Maybe Ali just got like this with her friends when she was drunk. She and Kelley were only friends with nothing romantic between them, maybe that’s how she felt about Ashlyn too.

She was pulled out of her thoughts when Ali grabbed her hands and assertively put them on her hips, airing on the dangerously low side. 

“Fuck it,” Ashlyn thought as she pushed her worries aside and whole-heartedly began to dance with Ali.

After a few songs, they were both getting sweaty and their legs were on fire.  
Ali turned around and put her hands behind Ashlyn’s neck.

“Hi,” She whispered.

“Hi,” Ashlyn replied, looking into her eyes.

Much to Ashlyn’s surprise, Ali began pulling her head forward. Before she could react, Ali’s lips were on hers. 

The kiss was smoldering. Ashlyn felt it in her toes. Ali tasted like tequila and coconut—her lip gloss, she assumed. They stood there in the middle of the party making out for several minutes before Ali pulled away and whispered in Ashlyn’s ear, “Take me home.”


	8. Chapter 8

Ali woke up to a pounding headache. She was parched and was pretty sure she was going to throw up within the next 10 minutes, but she couldn’t make herself get out of bed. She rolled onto her side in the fetal position and thought back to what had happened the night before…

 

\----------

 

[“Take me home.”

//

Ashlyn took Ali’s hand and let her through the crowd towards the front door. When they stepped out into the fresh air, Ashlyn was sure Ali would sober up and realize her mistake. Instead, Ali grasped her hand more firmly and interlocked their fingers. She took her free hand and held Ashlyn’s bicep. Ashlyn just grinned and started off in the direction of their dorm. 

They didn’t talk too much on their walk home. There were a couple utterances of how good the party was and how much fun they had, but other than that it was comfortable silence and stolen glances. 

Although both of them were drunk, it became evident to Ashlyn that Ali was farther gone than her. She was slurring her words a bit and couldn’t really walk in a straight line. Ashlyn’s main goal was to just get her home safely.

Ali seemed to have other ideas. She absentmindedly stroked Ashlyn’s arm the entire walk home while occasionally leaning over to kiss her shoulder or neck.  
It’s not that Ashlyn wasn’t enjoying the affection, she just didn’t want Ali to regret anything in the morning. 

Ali on the other-hand, although drunk, was very sure of what she was doing. She had been having feelings towards Ashlyn for a while (basically since they met, she just hadn’t admitted it to herself then). It was all part of her plan to gain a little liquid courage tonight and do what she couldn’t get herself to do sober—get Ashlyn in bed. 

//

When they finally made it through the door, Ashlyn steered them towards Ali’s room so she could put her to bed. Ali had other ideas. As soon as they made it into her room, she pressed Ashlyn up against the door and kissed her hard.

Ashlyn took a second to realize what was going on, but quickly recovered. She ran her hands through Ali’s hair as she deepened the kiss. They stood there for a few minutes, hands roaming over each other’s bodies, tongues exploring each other’s mouths. 

It was Ali who tried to take it to the next level. She reached down and grabbed the bottom of Ashlyn’s jersey. As she tried to bring it up over her head, Ashlyn grabbed her arm, stopping her.

“What’s wrong?” Ali asked as she leaned up and kissed Ashlyn’s neck softly.

“I think we should stop,” Ashlyn admitted.

“You don’t want to sleep with me?” Ali asked as her face dropped. She slowly removed her hands from Ashlyn and stepped backwards.

“No! I mean, yes! I do, Al. I really do. Like a lot. I just think we’re both drunk and not thinking straight.”

“That’s because we aren’t straight,” Ali mumbled.

“Aww, Al, come here,” Ashlyn cooed as she pulled her in for a hug. She held her like that for a long time until she felt Ali twitch a couple of times. She pulled back to see a very green looking face.

Ali ran to the bathroom and proceeded to empty the contents of her stomach into the toilet. Once Ashlyn realized what was going on, she grabbed a wet washcloth and made her way to the bathroom.

Ali was hugging the toilet bowl while she sat on the floor looking extremely defeated. Ashlyn sat behind her and pulled her between her legs. She gathered her long hair into a pony tail and tied it up using an elastic she found on Ali’s wrist. She pressed the washcloth to Ali’s forehead and rubbed her back soothingly.

The two of them sat on the floor like that for over an hour until Ali had nothing left to throw up. Ashlyn carried her to her bed and tucked her in. If it were any of her other friends she probably would’ve undressed her and gotten her into something more comfortable, but considering what had transpired that night, she didn’t want Ali to think she was trying to take advantage of her in any way. Once she started to drift off, Ashlyn kissed her on the forehead, went to her own bedroom, and passed out.]

 

\----------

 

Ali groaned as she remembered she had puked in front of Ashlyn, but then smiled as she remembered how Ashlyn had taken care of her. When she was finally sure she wouldn’t throw up, she forced herself out of bed and into the shower. When she was finally clean and looking somewhat put together, she crept into Ashlyn’s room.

Tobin had gone over to Christen’s after the party, so Ali didn’t have to worry about her being there. She tip-toed over to Ashlyn’s bed, pulled back the covers, and slipped in. She spooned Ashlyn from behind and kissed the back of her neck to get her to wake up.

When Ashlyn finally started stirring, she realized what was going on and smiled to herself.

“Ash,” Ali whispered, “can we talk?”

“Mmm yeah, I think that would probably be a good idea,” Ashlyn replied.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the title and this chapter specifically were inspired by the Childish Gambino camp monologue at the end of "That Power." If you don't know what I'm talking about it, you should listen to it. Anyway, here are the parts I was thinking about:
> 
> "I like you and you like me and I more-than-like you  
> But I don’t know if you do or don’t more-than-like me  
> You’ve never said, so I haven’t been saying anything all summer  
> Content to enjoy the small miracle of a girl choosing to talk to me  
> And choosing to do so again the next day and so on  
> A girl who’s smart and funny and who, if I say something dumb for a laugh  
> Is willing to say something two or three times as dumb to make me laugh  
> But who also gets weird and wise sometimes in a way I could never be  
> A girl who reads books that no one’s assigned to her  
> Whose curly brown hair has a line running through it  
> From where she put a tie to hold it up while it was still wet  
> \-----------  
> And then I’m like, 'Can I tell you something?'  
> And all of a sudden I’m telling you  
> And I keep telling you and it all comes out of me and it keeps coming  
> And your face is there and gone and there and gone  
> As we pass underneath the orange lamps that line the sides of the highway  
> And there’s no expression on it  
> And I think just after a point I’m just talking to lengthen the time  
> Where we live in a world where you haven’t said 'yes' or 'no' yet  
> And regrettably I end up using the word 'destiny'  
> I don’t remember in what context. Doesn’t really matter  
> Before long I’m out of stuff to say and you smile and say, 'okay'  
> I don’t know exactly what you mean by it, but it seems vaguely positive"

“Alright, give me 10 minutes to shower and brush my teeth and I’ll be right back,” Ashlyn proposed.

Ali nodded and watched her walk out of the room. She stayed sitting on Ashlyn’s bed and thought about how she wanted the conversation to go. If she was being honest with herself, she really didn’t even know where to start. 

As Ashlyn showered, she was having identical thoughts. She didn’t know where she stood with Ali and she definitely didn’t want to say something she would regret. What if she told Ali she liked her and made a fool of herself? She decided to let the brunette lead the direction of the conversation and respond based on what she was saying. 

//

10 minutes later, Ashlyn returned to her room in a towel. She saw Ali on her bed and decided she would just grab clothes and change in the bathroom as to not make it awkward. As she went to leave the room, Ali stopped her.

“Ash, you don’t have to leave, I just won’t look, I promise.”

“Uhh okay I just don’t want you to feel weird,” Ashlyn responded. 

“I don’t.”

With that, Ashlyn turned around and began to change. She swore she could feel Ali’s eyes on her, but she didn’t turn around to confirm her suspicions. 

Ali was in fact staring at Ashlyn. At her ass, to be exact. She couldn’t help herself and she prayed to God she wouldn’t turn around and catch her. 

Once Ashlyn was done getting dressed, she cleared her throat before turning around, as to signal to Ali that she better stop gawking. Ali got the message. 

Ashlyn made her way over to her bed and and sat cross-legged across from Ali. She gave her a reassuring smile and waited for her to start. She didn’t. Neither of them could figure out what to say. They sat in silence staring at each other for nearly 5 minutes. 

Finally, Ashlyn broke the silence. 

“Listen, I’m gonna need you to start because I really have no idea where this is going. You’re the one who kissed me.”

“You kissed me back!” Ali argued.

Ashlyn just rolled her eyes and Ali realized that this was maybe not the best way to have a productive conversation. Still, she couldn’t just let go of her pride.

Ali started again, “Okay I’m sorry, but it’s true. Anywaysss, I just wanted to say that I’m really sorry about last night.”

Ashlyn’s face dropped and Ali continued, “I didn’t mean to get that sloppy and I’m sorry you had to take care of me like that. I was a mess and I’m really embarrassed.”

Ashlyn’s face softened. “Al, it’s really not a big deal at all. Don’t be embarrassed, I’ve been there for sure. It seriously happens to everyone.”

“Okay I’m still embarrassed,” Ali laughed, “but thanks.”

Ashlyn quirked her eyebrow, “Is that all you wanted to talk about?”

“No.”

Ashlyn starred at Ali willing her to continue. She did.

“I also wanted to talk about what happened between the two of us. Before I threw up I mean.”

Ashlyn nodded, “Yeah I mean I wasn’t sure if it was like a Kelley situation or what was going on.”

Ali frowned. “No, it was not a ‘Kelley situation’” she air-quoted with a tone of annoyance. 

Ashlyn laughed softly. “Okay. Care to explain?” she fished. 

Ali took a deep breath and let it out a bit dramatically, preparing for the worst.

“Okay,” she started. “I like you. I have for a while, probably since we met, I’m not really sure. Anyways, I didn’t know if you liked me, I still don’t. So I waited till I was drunk to do anything about it which in hindsight was not the smartest idea.”

Ashlyn smiled. “Al—“

Ali cut her off, “—no hold on. It’s okay if you don’t feel the same way, I just felt like I had to say something. We can totally just be friends, I just needed you to know.”

“Can I talk now?” Ashlyn asked. 

“Uh yeah sorry.”

“Ali, I like you—“

Ali cut her off again, “—but you don’t ‘like me’ like me.”

“Okay I need you to shut up and I mean that in the nicest of ways.” Ashlyn said.

“You’re right, I’m sorry.”

“Al, I do ‘like you’ like you. I have for a while. Like before I knew you liked girls. I just didn’t want to say or do anything to scare you off. You were really struggling and I didn’t want to make it even worse for you.”

Ali got her hands and knees and crawling across the bed, closing the space between them, and engulfed Ashlyn in a hug.

“Ash, stop. You’ve helped so much, you would never make it worse” She whispered while holding the embrace.

Ashlyn smiled and pulled back slightly. “Okay, I’m gonna kiss you now. Like really kiss you,” she breathed out onto Ali’s lips.

Ali leaned in and closed the gap. As their lips met, they felt the same full-body tingle as the night before, only amplified. Ashlyn deepened the kiss, running her tongue along Ali’s bottom lip before finding her tongue. Ali responded by moving her hands up into Ashlyn’s hair, tugging gently. Ashlyn moaned and brought her hands down to lift up Ali’s shirt…TO BE CONTINUED

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm thinking probably like 3 more chapters or so


End file.
